RismadarVoice Reporters, July 30, 2026
Survivors of the three-storey student hostel that collapsed near the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, in Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State have shared their harrowing experiences, describing how they narrowly escaped death after the building suddenly gave way.
The building, identified as Elite Five Star Lodge, a 100-room student hostel located in Amaokpala, collapsed on Sunday night, trapping several occupants beneath the rubble.
Emergency responders recovered two bodies—a male and a female during rescue operations on Monday, while three injured occupants were rescued and taken to hospital for treatment.
One of the survivors, 27-year-old Chinyere, who spoke from her hospital bed, said she had lived on the second floor of the hostel since March and never suspected the building was unsafe.
According to her, loud cracking sounds from the walls were the first indication of danger.
She said she fled her room without any of her belongings and jumped from the second-floor balcony as sections of the building began to collapse.
“There was no warning before that night. We suddenly heard loud cracks and people screaming for help. I managed to reach the balcony and jumped. I don’t remember how I landed. The next thing I knew, I was in the hospital,” she recalled.
Another survivor and student of the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, Grace Nweke, said residents had received a warning shortly before the incident.
She explained that at about 10 p.m. on Sunday, a food vendor who operated within the hostel alerted occupants through a WhatsApp group after noticing cracks in the building.
According to her, residents immediately began evacuating when the cracks became more pronounced.
Nweke, who moved into the hostel in January, said she was unaware the building had structural defects and alleged that previous occupants had reportedly been asked to vacate the property because it was unsafe, but it was later rented out to new tenants.
Another resident, Joseph Udo, said he escaped the tragedy because he was visiting friends when the building collapsed. He said he rushed back after receiving a phone call, only to find the hostel reduced to rubble, with his belongings buried beneath the debris.
He also disclosed that the two victims recovered from the wreckage included a young woman who was reportedly preparing for her wedding next month after graduating from the Federal Polytechnic, Oko, last year.
The Deputy Director of the Anambra State Emergency Management Agency, Ndidi Omega, described the incident as avoidable, revealing that the building had previously been marked for demolition.
She stressed the need to enforce demolition orders on unsafe structures to prevent similar tragedies.
Meanwhile, the Anambra State Government has announced stricter measures to improve building safety across the state.
In a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation, Dr Law Mefor, the government said public officials and engineers found negligent in cases of structural failure would face prosecution.
The decision, reached during the State Executive Council meeting chaired by Governor Chukwuma Soludo, also approved mandatory integrity tests for mass housing facilities, including student hostels, as part of efforts to strengthen compliance with building regulations and prevent future building collapses.
